He was then hit by a vehicle that failed to stop on the M6 near Leyland.

The incident took place at around 11.30pm on Saturday just past junction 28 southbound.

After falling from the wrong side of the footbridge four vehicles swerved to avoid the man as he lay in the first lane. A fifth vehicle then collided with him and the driver failed to spot or report the incident.

Sergeant Dave Hogarth, from Lancashire police’s road policing unit, said: “This is a tragic incident in which a young man has lost his life and we are doing all we can to identify his next of kin and establish the circumstances of exactly what happened.”

He appealed to the driver of a dark saloon, or any other witnesses, to call the force on 101.